Heretofore, there have been calls from users of imaging devices, such as digital cameras, portable telephones equipped with cameras and the like, for the development of technologies with which a focus state of a subject image may be confirmed while the focus is being adjusted. To satisfy these calls, a technique has been employed of displaying a portion of the subject image that should be in focus magnified at a display unit of an imaging device, making it easier to confirm the focus state.
However, in a case in which this technique is used, it is not possible to see the whole of the subject image while confirming the focus state. Therefore, it is difficult to take account of the whole of the subject image while confirming the focus state.
In these imaging devices, to make operations to perform focus adjustment manually easier, a technology that displays a split image within a live view image (a through image) has come into use. The term “split image” includes an image in which a portion of a left eye image and a portion of a right eye image corresponding to predetermined regions are combined. In the split image, a shift in a direction in which parallax is produced is generated between the left eye image and the right eye image in accordance with a focus state. Using this technology, a user confirms a focus state by observing shifting between the left eye image and the right eye image in the split image.
As an imaging device employing this technology, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2001-309210 discloses an imaging device that includes: an imaging section that acquires an image of a subject in the form of imaging signals via an optical system; a detection section that detects an offset amount corresponding to a distance between an image plane of the subject in the optical system and a light detection plane of the imaging section; a display unit that displays an image of the subject at a display screen on the basis of the imaging signals acquired by the imaging section; and a display change unit that utilizes the image of the subject and changes display contents of a display change region in accordance with the offset amount, the display change region being a partial region of the display screen. According to this imaging device, when focus adjustment is being performed manually, the focus adjustment may be performed with a similar feel to focus adjustment that utilizes a split image.
JP-A No. 2009-147665 discloses an imaging device that includes an image acquisition unit, a display unit and a split image generation unit. The image acquisition unit respectively photoelectrically converts a first subject image and a second subject image, which are formed by light flux divided by a pupil division unit from light flux from an imaging optical system, to generate a first image and a second image. The image acquisition unit also photoelectrically converts a third subject image, which is formed by light flux that has not been divided by the pupil division unit, to generate a third image. The display unit displays the third image. The split image generation unit generates a split image to be displayed within the third image. This imaging device utilizes the first and second images for the split image generation unit to generate the split image, and adds color information extracted from the third image to the split image. According to this imaging device, usability when focus adjustment is being performed manually may be improved.
JP-A No. 2009-163220 discloses an imaging device that includes an image acquisition unit, a display unit and a processing unit. The image acquisition unit respectively photoelectrically converts a first subject image and a second subject image, which are formed by light flux divided by a pupil division unit from light flux from an imaging optical system, to generate a first image and a second image. The display unit displays an image. The processing unit causes a superimposed image in which the first and second images are superimposed to be displayed at the display unit. According to this imaging device, visibility of a split image may be improved.